The way home

Don’t just covet what you see on television. Take out your credit card and buy it.A new show on A&E is betting big on branded content by making literally everything on it something of an advertisement. That is to say, each and every item you see on the new show The Way Home can be purchased from series co-producer Wayfair. Heralded as television’s very first “fully-shoppable” series, the show will feature interior designer Evette Rios and lifestyle expert Megan Colarossi, who will spend the duration of the program chatting about how to “save time and money during home renovations, with segments focusing on do-it-yourself tips, renovations, design, and home makeovers,” AdWeek reports.It didn’t take long for the show to go from an idea to on the air — as Nancy Go, Wayfair’s vice president of brand marketing, noted: “This show is launching nine months … [Read more...] about See something you like? Everything on A&E’s ‘The Way Home’ can be bought

In June, Hisense announced it had licensed the Sharp brand name for use in the U.S. Many wondered what this would mean for the longstanding brand, but seeing its latest lineup that utilizes both Sharp and Hisense technology, including quantum dot technology, it doesn’t seem that we have to worry about the integrity of the brand name declining.“The Sharp brand has long been esteemed in the TV industry for pioneering sophisticated picture technologies and creating the big screen category,” Sharp’s Mary O’Neill said in a statement. “2016 will be no different, with unique viewing features coupled with paramount quality, immense screen sizes and high value.”Aquos N9000For the first time in a Sharp TV, the 4K flagship Aquos N9000 line will feature SPECTROS quantum dot technology, high dynamic range (HDR), and a curved panel. The N9000 line supports both the VP9 and HEVC codec, so compatibility with existing streaming 4K content will be very good, and … [Read more...] about Sharp hits CES with a lineup of 25 TVs for 2016, all the way up to a 75-inch model

Quirky is on a mission to bring the smart home to everyone through it’s own platform Wink. Thanks to partnerships with the Home Depot and General Electric, Quirky says it’s got 100,000 people using the Wink app alongside compatible products. It’s been a rapid ascent for the small startup and Quirky wants to keep it going. The company announced seven new products on Tuesday at an event held in its headquarters in Manhattan, New York.Quirky aims to help average, every day people build their own personal smart home, one connected device at a time. Every device is relatively cheap, especially in comparison with big-name products like Nest and others. Of course, many of the more expensive products, including Nest, are compatible with the Wink app. Quirky introduced the Wink Hub a few months ago, which aims to connect all the different smart devices in your home, regardless of the frequency they’re on, be it Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Z-Wave, or what have you.With … [Read more...] about 7 new Wink products for $100 or less just made the smart home a lot cheaper

Imagine a completely networked home -- a smart home, if you will -- in which every appliance has its own Internet address and can be remotely managed from anywhere on the Internet with a simple Web browser. Did you forget to turn off the coffee pot before you left for work? Simply log on to your home's network and shut it off remotely.A few years ago, only small startups and leading-edge visionaries, like Neil Gershenfeld, director of MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms, and Nicholas Negroponte, author of Being Digital, were promoting the idea of smart homes. But today, mainstream homebuilders, local home-networking integrators and even home-furnishings suppliers, such as Sears, are offering goods and services to smarten up your living space.For some, the move to a smart home might only consist of controlling a few lights remotely, perhaps using the fairly common X10 technology. For others, security might be the central application. Still others might choose to install advanced controllers … [Read more...] about TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL REPORT A Brilliant Future for the Smart Home

This week's column is inspired by my experience last week in Miami where I moderated at AMD's Global Vision Conference. A number of distinguished speakers participated and we spoke at length on the digital home.On my panel I had Dave Alles, Microsoft's eHome division chief; Ameer Karim, Director of Worldwide Product Marketing with HP's consumer PC division; Bob Lambert, Senior VP, Worldwide Media Technology and Development at Disney; and Michael Markman, Senior Director, Marketing from Digeo Moxie. We chatted about problems with the current market, what needs to be fixed, and what we're likely to see in the future.I was at IBM when Louis Gerstner, IBM's previous CEO, took over. He was pounded because he didn't seem to have a vision. He referred to it as the "Vision Thing" and argued that he needed to get the company operating on a day-to-day basis again before he could take time thinking about the future. Even then I was not convinced that it feasible for a leader to make such a … [Read more...] about OPINION Anticipating the Video iPod and Envisioning the Digital Home

A page of computer code being tested by Google may be pointing the way toward future integration of the Google Now mobile virtual assistant into the search company's famously minimalist home page.The code was first found by Google Operating System, a blog that labels itself as "unofficial news and tips about Google." The page includes user options for setting home or work locations and an invitation to "get started with Google Now. Just the right information at just the right time."A screenshot of a possible Russian language implementation of Google Now from a Chrome extension, which includes weather information and app listings, was also making the Internet rounds Monday.However, the inclusion of the assistant on Google's home page "could be a trade-off since many Google users love the home page for its lack of clutter, perhaps living in the delusion that Google knows nothing about them," Al Hilwa, a research program director at IDC Seattle told TechNewsWorld.The inclusion could mean … [Read more...] about Google Now May Find Its Way Home

"The connected home" is a term used frequently but often defined ambiguously. For Parks Associates, the connected home is comprised of the following elements:access services, including broadband, television, landline communications, and mobile servicescontent and value-added services that complement the core access servicesDevices that connect to these access services and each other, creating a network that can share content and resources throughout the homeConsumer electronics manufacturers, the PC industry, pay-television service providers and broadband providers are driving the development of the connected home, for obvious reasons, as the interplay of these elements expands the businesses for all these players.Parks Associates categorizes the major business strategies involved in the connected home efforts as follows.There are two trends driving home networking of consumer electronics: the growth of stored media collections on home servers and the influx of online content services, … [Read more...] about ANALYSIS The Wide-Open Gateway to the Connected Home

By now, observers of the various e-commerce markets can see which business models work online and which do not.Online travel sites? Check. Online bookstores?Check. Online music? At first glance, no. But guess what? Check.For a while, online music looked shaky, especiallywith the proliferation of bootlegged tunes, copyright infringement suits and technology that moved faster than the law could keep up with it.But this month, a major hurdle was crossed when the RecordingIndustry Association of America (RIAA), the National MusicPublishers' Association and various associated agencies finallymet each other halfway and cleared the way for the legal licensing of online music.This has been a long, protracted battle, during which upstartslike Napster became electronically -- albeit temporarily -- omnipotent,only to find themselves confronted with copyrightinfringement suits and damage claims in the billions.If Napster is relatively quiet at the moment, so be it. Its unlikelyoffspring, MusicNet … [Read more...] about Online Music Takes the Long Way Home

A home weather station is one of those gadgets that you didn’t know you need until you own one. While they have only recently become popular, these devices have been around forever — at least one company has been producing personal weather stations for the better part of three decades, and that’s Davis Instruments.Things have changed. Within the last several years, new companies have sprung up and brought the cost of ownership down to a level where the average consumer — as well as the weather enthusiast — can afford. Not all home weather stations are created equal, and accuracy is key.We’ve gotten the opportunity to personally test many weather stations recently, and we’ve found the best of the best. Paired with the best weather apps for your iPhone and you could potentially become your own personal weatherman. Davis Vantage VueWhy should you buy this: The granddaddy of weather station manufacturers has a version of its top-of-the-line … [Read more...] about The best home weather stations you can buy

When it comes to home security, the best solution is often the one that is easiest to use. Companies will always find new features to add to hype up their latest models, but a good smart camera built on strong core technologies doesn’t need extra bells and whistles to stand out. While we ask a lot of our tech products today, what we really want in a smart camera is something that stays out of our way, looks good enough to blend in without making our homes look like high-security prisons, and offers a painless way to interact with it.Below are a few of our picks for the best home security cameras, each of which offers something unique to appeal to different users. Netgear Arlo Pro 2Why should you buy this: Robust feature set, good cloud storage options The best Arlo Pro 2 When you simply want the most versatile and feature-rich smart security system out there, the Arlo Pro 2 can’t be beat. … [Read more...] about The best home security cameras you can buy